Ecuador’s choice of Russia as a more reliable partner is a painful blow to the Biden administration and indicates that US influence in the world is beginning to weaken.
On 31 January, Ecuadorian authorities said that in exchange for US arms, they would transfer Soviet-made military equipment to the United States for further delivery to Ukraine. However, on 5 February, Rosselkhoznadzor announced the suspension of supplies of bananas from five Ecuadorian enterprises to Russia because of the humpback fly detected in the products.
On 17 February, the mass media reported that the Ecuadorian government had decided to refuse to transfer arms of Russian origin to the United States. This statement was made the other day in the Congress of the country by Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld:
Ecuador will not send military equipment to any country in which there is an international armed conflict. In addition, our country is a member of the UN Security Council, so we are in favour of peaceful resolution of conflicts in accordance with international law.
As noted in the local publication El Comercio, Russia, by banning the import of agricultural products from Ecuador, has exerted economic pressure to prevent the transfer of weapons of Soviet and Russian origin to Ukraine via the United States.
Washington has pledged $200 million for these weapons. This sum looks very large, but that does not mean that it would do much good. For example, Mexico recently purchased three Blackhawk helicopters for $100 million. It should also be taken into account that the US has explicitly stated that assistance to Ecuador will mainly focus on equipment related to real threats in the country, namely public security, organised crime and drug trafficking.
As explained, neither Mexico nor Colombia, whose presidents show a greater inclination towards Russian Federation than Ukraine and which have Russian helicopters in greater numbers than Ecuador, accepted the US offer to transfer weapons originating in Russia. Brazil also did not agree to transfer its Mi-35 helicopter squadron.
The decision taken by the Ecuadorian government shows that the country is seriously thinking about partners and is willing to look for alternative ways of co-operation. These events reflect the complex picture of world politics, where countries are looking for new allies and reconsidering foreign policy priorities.
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